The people who vote for their favorite dancers on “Dancing With the Stars” over the years have not been kind to “Real Housewives” contestants. Not a single one has made it into the finals, much less won the mirror ball trophy.
The latest victim? “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Phaedra Parks, who landed in eighth place after being eliminated last week.
Over 33 seasons, 11 “Housewives” have donned their dancing shoes and sparkly dresses and tried to win over the audience. But note: the first three were cast before their time on “Real Housewives” so that possible stigma was not attached to them.
Parks even addressed the issue to US Weekly before she began competing this season: “The Housewives generally haven’t fared that well. I want to break the curse because we can definitely win.”
Parks did well but failed to break the curse. The judges in all liked her work ethic and style. She only received one score from a judge lower than a 7 during her five-week run on the show and that was from persnickety guest judge Gene Simmons of Kiss during metal week.
By week 5, with the weakest dancers gone, she faced only strong competitors. Not a single dancer last week received less than an 8. She herself landed 24 out of 30 dancing jazz to “Cruella De Vil” for Disney-themed week.
But half the score came from audience votes, and she simply didn’t get enough.
Parks has made quite the comeback on reality TV after leaving “Housewives” seven years ago. She was a popular character in Peacock’s season two of “Traitors.” And Bravo gave her a slot in “Married to Medicine” last season, bringing her back next month for the 11th season of that show.
When Kenya Moore left “Housewives after showing explicit pictures of a fellow cast member at a party early in taping of season 16, Bravo decided to drop Moore and bring Parks back. The 16th season of “Housewives” is expected to return early next year.
Here is the track record of the previous 10 women from “Housewives” on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Lisa Rinna (“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”)
Season 2 (2006): Fourth place. She was still eight years away from joining “Real Housewives” when she was cast on “Dancing.” She was known better as an actress on shows like “Days of Our Lives” and “Melrose Place.” The cast was also smaller at the time, with just 10 celebrities vs. 13 most seasons.
Denise Richards (“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)
Season 8 (2009): 12th place. Like Rinna, Richards was selected for her extensive TV and filmography including “Wild Things” and “The World is Not Enough.” She joined “Real Housewives” a decade later.
Joanna Krupa (“Real Housewives of Miami”)
Season 9 (2009): fourth place. Krupa was selected to be on the reality show as a professional model and almost made the finals. She joined “Real Housewives of Miami” during seasons 2 and 3 of its earlier run and declined to return when Andy Cohen revived the show in 2021 for Peacock.
Lisa Vanderpump (“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”)
Season 16 (2013): 10th place. Vanderpump was the first “DWTS” cast member selected because she was on “Real Housewives.” She fainted during a rehearsal and in a later episode of “Real Housewives,” Kyle Richards, a fellow Housewife, even alleged she might have done so on purpose.
NeNe Leakes (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”)
Season 18 (2014): seventh place. Leakes, the first from the “Atlanta” franchise to land on the show, actually did reasonably well, making it seven weeks with pro dancer Tony Dovolani.
Kim Zolciak (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”)
Season 21 (2015): withdrew week 3. Zolciak, once friends with Leakes, joined the show three seasons later. She didn’t have a chance to be voted out after experiencing a mini stroke and spending two days in the hospital.
Kim Fields (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”)
Season 16 (2016): Seventh/eighth (two dancers were cut at the same time). Fields had just one season on “Real Housewives” in 2015 and decided that wasn’t really for her. She is, of course, better known for her sitcoms like “The Facts of Life” and “Living Single.” She was cut at the same time as NFL linebacker Von Miller week 7 despite a strong samba that landed her 9s from all the judges.
Erika Jayne (“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”)
Season 24 (2017): ninth place. Jayne, who grew up in Georgia, has been on “Beverly Hills” since 2015 and also has had a successful dance music singing career. She was cut week 5 during Disney night, just like Parks her season.
Kenya Moore (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”)
Season 30 (2021) 10th place: Moore showed poise and confidence, making it to week 6, finishing ahead of celebrities like Melanie C and Brian Austin Green. Her best score of 9s came week 5 with a rumba on “Grease” night.
Teresa Giudice (“Real Housewives of New Jersey”)
Season 31 (2022): 15th place. With an expanded 16 celebrity slate, this was the only season that didn’t air on ABC, going on Disney+ only. Giudice also ended up having the worst ranking of anybody from the Bravo franchise, making it only to week two.
IF YOU WATCH
“Dancing with the Stars,” 8 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC, available next day on Hulu
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